A Technical Standards team manager with a passion for sustainability and new ways of working has joined Premier Guarantee as Head of Innovations.
Andrew Fox worked with Countryside Properties (now part of Vistry) for 18 years as Associate Director of Technical Standards, focusing on improving homes’ energy efficiency and educating staff and customers on modern methods of construction.
A trained pilot as well as a drone pilot, Andrew’s passion for innovation saw him, in his garage, create a closed structural panel prototype – a wall section complete with insulation and windows – which eventually went into mass production.
Describing the move to the latent defects insurance sector, he said: “It is quite a step-change for me but I am really looking forward to it. It’s a new challenge but I love getting involved in new things.
"I’ve always been interested in sustainability and ways to improve. You might say I’m a geek, but it’s a passion I have that also helps me train colleagues, staff and customers. It’s important that we pass on what we know onto others."
Premier Guarantee Technical Director Sarah Sheppard said: "We are really pleased to welcome Andrew to the innovations team and we are sure his experience and his passion on the subject of innovative and sustainable construction will be a huge asset for us.
"He will play a central role in building our knowledge of and assessment processes behind modern methods of construction, and how we develop further our relationships with developers and manufacturers, as well as the growing body of organisations that support greater use of 'non-traditional' approaches to construction."
After leaving college, Andrew joined Barratt as a joiner. Within five years he had been promoted to Site Manager and later helped Barratt build eco-friendly homes at Buckshaw near Chorley, part of a wider development described by Redrow as one of the largest brownfield sites in Europe.
With Countryside he drove a programme to improve the energy fabric of new homes through incremental testing of products, systems and design details and refined the improvements to achieve a significant cost efficiency for the business.
He has also worked on taller buildings including timber frame, as well as the more commonly found concrete panel and steel frame types.
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Every care was taken to ensure the information in this article was correct at the time of publication (June 2023). Guidance provided does not replace the reader’s professional judgement and any construction project should comply with the relevant Building Regulations or applicable technical standards. For the most up to date Premier Guarantee technical guidance please refer to your Risk Management Surveyor and the latest version of the Premier Guarantee Technical Manual.
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